The castle of Milmanda (cat. El castell de Milmanda) is a construction of the municipal district of Vimbodí i Poblet, in the Conca de Barberà, Tarragona province, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on some primitive Iberian, Greek and roman settlements.
It has always been a residential castel and never had much strategic importance as a defensive castle or border because the last Saracen refinements, very close to the mountains of Prades and Siurana, were conquered in 1153.
It is located only 2 kilometers away from Poblet after Francolí, in a flat area located between the towns of Vimbodí and L’Espluga de Francolí.
History of the complex
The first documentary reference of the fortress of Milmanda dates back to 1148 (or 1149), when Guerau de Granyena and his wife Sança donated it as castellany to Arnau de Montpaó and his wife Lloreta with all its territories and rights and the power to populate it. In 1163, this castle passed to the monks of the monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet, who built it a farmhouse, documented in 1172. This property was confirmed by King Jaume I in 1272.
Subsequently, the abbots ordered to rebuild and expand it on several occasions (1316-1348 and 1564-83). Between 1316 and 1348, during the abbatial period of Abbot Ponç de Copons, the defense tower at the entrance was built.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the abbot Felip Genovès turned it into a residential mansion with chapel, spacious rooms and a gallery with arches.
After the confiscation it was left abandoned and it was falling into ruin, until in the 20th century the Torres wine company acquired the castle and its lands making it possible to visit it today. The lands surrounding the castle are full of vineyards with which Torres produces white wine.
